The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

The Emperor of Gladness

Author: Ocean Vuong

Genre: Fiction

Publish Date: May 2025

Read: August 2025

Favorite Quote: People aren’t so bad. They’re just wounded little kids trying to heal.

Story Synopsis: A young man, Hai, on the brink of suicide, is called to help an old woman with dementia. She offers him a place to live in exchange for helping around the house and caring for her as her mind slips away. Battling an opioid addiction, an impoverished upbringing, and trying to come out of the closet, Hai must navigate adulthood when all the odds are stacked against him.

Why does this book beguile? This book was … a slog. I know it’s gotten a ton of rave reviews and whatnot but… I kinda hated this book.

I say that with love. It’s an incredibly well-written book and the prose is evocative. However, The Emperor of Gladness reeks of pretention. It feels like “write what you know” got taken so literally that there’s no room for imagination at all in this story. It’s a depressing look at a depressing intersection of reality at a depressing time. I understand why this book could be considered “art,” however, I felt like the author wanted to be deep, philosophical, metaphorical, and esoteric. Because I could feel that, the book held so little interest to me. I feel like a horrid person writing this, but it’s important to be our own taste-maker and understand why we like and dislike the things we do.

Bookshop.Org Link*: The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

Amazon.com Link*: The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong